Lunches for Kids with Momables (including recipes!)

Just yesterday we were talking about how the end of the school year doesn’t necessarily mean the end of packing lunches! Summer brings so many opportunities to tote along a “real food” picnic, and today I have the perfect resource to help you with just that. In case you haven’t heard there is a site called MOMables that specializes in kid lunch meal plans. The site, which is run by fellow mom and owner Laura Fuentes, is chock-full of really cute and original ideas. I started following their page on Facebook a few months back, and I just love some of the tips and pictures they share…including how to pack a baked potato, homemade oreos, and how to keep berries fresher longer. They are always full of good ideas so I am excited to introduce you to MOMables through this sponsored post today…they will definitely make your life easier!

Every summer parents ask MOMables creator, Laura, “What are the best drive-through options?” and “How can I get grandma to feed my kids better?” Her answer is always the same:

If you want your kids to eat good-for-them meals using real food ingredients you select, you have to pack your kid’s food for camp, grandma’s house, and activity days. – Laura Fuentes with MOMables

Summertime might be a break from school, but that does not mean it has to be a break from a healthy, real food routine. Being lenient with sleeping-in just isn’t the same as being lenient with the food we eat to nourish and feed our families.

I always say that when it comes to eating real food, planning ahead is key. And planning the food we eat should be a year-round priority – it helps you eat healthy, stay on budget, and save time in the kitchen, which is why MOMables wants to do all of that planning work for you. Their meal plans are “kid-approved” by the owner’s own 3 children (under the age of 7) + 16 other kids on the MOMables team, and provide you with the following…

One weekly lunch meal plan with 5 different lunches.

Gluten Free, vegetarian, and nut-free options in every lunch.

Easy-to-swap ingredients for picky eaters or allergies.

Pictures of every lunch – just like your favorite cookbooks.

Prep-ahead sheet with detailed instructions.

A coordinating shopping list (to be used at the store of your choice).

Adult friendly meals: One plan feeds the entire family – you control the portion size.

Cost: $6 per month.

These meal plans are the perfect way to take your first step toward feeding your family real food and to never again get into a lunch rut. There is no better way to continuously introduce your kids to new foods (like humus or bean dips) in different ways than having someone else do all the planning for you!

As mentioned, MOMables has one simple plan with built in vegetarian, gluten free and nut free options in each lunch. This is the most adaptable kids food plan, especially if you have food allergies or special diets. One of the key features of their service is the prep-ahead suggestions, which help you pack lunch a few days ahead or the night before (no more scrambling the morning of!), all while utilizing leftovers and saving you time. And with a picture of what each meal should look like these are plans anyone can easily follow.

Today, MOMables is sharing two different lunch recipes with us from their plan. You’ll see that the recipes are simple and either “real food approved” or can easily be adapted using real food ingredients. You can also sign up for their weekly newsletter, which is loaded with free recipes and a free sample meal plan week, or you can go ahead and sign up for their subscription service and look forward to a stress-free summer without the fast food guilt! Enjoy :)

Ingredients

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Mix thoroughly, cover and keep in the fridge.

To assemble lunch: Lay 4 bread slices on a flat surface. Make egg salad sandwiches. Or, place egg salad portion in a lunch container and serve with crackers, fruit and veggies.

Make-ahead tip: If you decide to make egg salad sandwiches the night before, cut them in half and place them in the freezer. In the morning, place sandwiches in a lunch container along with fruit and veggies. Sandwiches will thaw out by lunch and this way you don’t need to pack ice-packs!

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but 100 Days of Real Food will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated and helps us spread our message!

Have you by chance seen this? It rates the organic brands and Horizon as owned by Dean foods, which apparently their animals are not let to pasture AND they purchase calves at 1 year old which means they don’t have any info on what was done in their 1st year of life! Click on “Horizon” and read about what they do.

My girlfriend told me about that website. It is great! She read an article a few years ago, that said Organic Horizon was not giving their cows adequate pasture time, among other things. One of the biggest reasons I initially switched to organic dairy/ grass fed beef was for more humane treatment of cows. I haven’t bought Organic Horizon since. My girlfriend switched to Sassy Cow, which is a local dairy for us and buys it at the a coop on the west-side. Unfortunately, Sassy Cow is not sold at the grocery store by my house, so I switched to Organic Valley Also produced in WI. Then I found out my store brand of organic milk is supplied by Organic Valley, so I can get the same quality of milk for .90 less.

Here is what is said about Horizon… We use Stonyfield Farm when we shop at our grocery store for milk… it rated high.

Horizon (Dean Foods)
Started by a syndicate of millionaires whose experience included organic groceries and conventional factory dairy farming, they quickly grew the enterprise, accessing venture capital and eventually selling stock in the company on Wall Street. Horizon, which is now the largest selling organic milk brand, was purchased by Dean Foods, a giant agribusiness, with almost $11 billion in sales, specializing in dairy products. Dean is also the largest conventional dairy marketer in the country.

They operate two corporate-owned farms, in Maryland and Idaho. Their Idaho facility, milking 4000â€“5000 cows, was originally a conventional factory-dairy that they converted to organic production. It has, according to widespread industry reports, very little access to pasture. Unlike the majority of all organic dairy farmers in the United States, who concentrate on the health and longevity of their cows, caring for them from birth, the Dean/Horizon Idaho farm sells off all their calves. Later, presumably to save money on organic feed and management, they buy one-year-old conventional animals on the open market. These replacements likely have received conventional milk replacer (made with bloodâ€”considered to be a “mad cow” risk), antibiotics, other prohibited pharmaceuticals, and genetically engineered feed. Many practices on a farm of this nature put ethical family-scale organic farmers at a competitive disadvantage.

In addition, Dean/Horizon purchases milk from other industrial-scale farms, some of which have a history of alleged labor abuses, and has reportedly been actively recruiting additional large farms. The company has announced plans to invest $10 million in additional farms in Idaho that will milk thousands of cows.

Although the corporation purchases at least half its milk from hundreds of family-scale farmers (they lump together the large factory farms with these traditional family farms, there is no clear-cut way for us to determine the percentage). There is no reason to believe these smaller organic dairy farms are not conducting their business just as ethically as farmers shipping to other labels. In a series of meetings with Dean officers and staff, we presented an option for disinvestment in their factory farms and an ambitious alternative proposal to fund transition and start-up of more organic family farms to fill their needs. Thus far, they have rejected this alternative. The corporation did not respond to either of two letters requesting their participation in the study and Horizon’s corporate vice-president also declined another invitation to participate in the survey during a private meeting with Cornucopia staff.

I have a question will you do requests on how to make pre-made box stuff, non-processed such as Rice A Roni-wild rice and other flavors. this was a Big time go to in my house. what could i do differnt? thanks for any help or advice

Hi Leslie. We have several pasta and rice dishes that might fit the bill. They can be found here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/real-food-resources/recipe-index/. Also, I just did a quick Google search and found a lot of recipes out there for just that request. They range from simple to gourmet. Look for recipes that have real food ingredients without artificial flavor enhancers like MSG and refined oils. Best of luck. ~Amy

I do homemade rice dishes all the time.
For spanish rice sautee diced onion, garlic, bell pepper (if you use the food processor on raw ingredients you can make great vegetable confetti to hide almost any veg in anything)in oil or butter, add rice and continue sauteing until the rice gets a bit of color. Add a combo of water and salsa (maybe 1/4 salsa — 3/4 water)turn to low and simmer covered.

For a creamy rice or grain, sautee onion or shallot dices in butter, add rice, herbs (sage, parsley, whatever)and a couple TB of white wine. Cook a few minutes then add a combo of water or broth and milk or cream. Turn to low and simmer covered. Grate some cheese into it a few minutes before it is done.

Cute idea for little kids, but my teenager would not speak to me for a week if I packed something as stinky as egg salad in his lunchbox…or spinach and strawberries in the same wrap! I sure wish someone would come up with a similar plan that included more realistic food that teenagers who’ve been eating processed/fast food for years would actually eat. I’ve been trying to make healthy food changes with him since I educated myself a year ago about processed food, but so far no luck whatsoever.

I totally understand trying to change a child’s and/or husbands eating habits. When I met my husband he had never eaten a vegetable except corn. (he is now practically a vegetarian) My eldest was 8 and my youngest was 2 when I switched everyone to organic and/or no processed foods. My 2 year old only ate chick-fil-A nuggets, sweet potatoes with brown sugar & Carnation breakfast drink. My eldest at 8 was just a little bit better. It was total hell, crying, yelling etc.. for about 3 weeks in our home, then it started to get better. I started it over the summer while the kids were at home for all meals. After 3 months it started to really get easier. Now my 13 year old eats anything… ANYTHING!!! My now 7 year old STILL takes forever to eat (about an hour) but he knows that he eats what I put in front of him or he will go hungry. He didnt eat any food for over 24 hours once. I stood strong making him eat baked chicken, mashed potatoes w/skins & broccoli covered in cheese. I reheated that plate 8 times! It made me sick watching him cry. I just sat their next to him and encouraged. Years later, he still fusses about almost anything I put in front of him, but yesterday for lunch at the pool I made Weelicious’s Green Mac & Cheese w/peas & 3 slices of Kiwi & Pineapple. He fussed. I told him that plate had to be 100% empty before he got in the pool with all his friends. It took 30 minutes and he finished his plate. I totally control him now. I HAVE THE POWER, NOT HIM!

The hardest part about getting your kids to stop gagging/throwing up/spitting/ crying at the table is for YOU to stand strong. I KNOW THAT SUCKS MAJOR A$$! Set the microwave timer for 30-45 minutes, put the food in front of them, you eat your dinner and start picking up after the alarm goes off. Dont act like them not eating is bothering you. Just stay strait faced and use very little words. I also had a LOCK w/ a key on my pantry. They WILL go to bed hungry a few times. They wake up starving and it makes feeding them pumpkin waffles w/fresh strawberries easier in the morning. :)

I truly wish you luck. It is very, very hard, but the faster to you start, and never give in, the easier it will be. The second you start to give in, they will mow you over and you are back to square one.

Great suggestions Lori! My girls are now 14 and 16, and often they eat better (or splurge less) than I do. We have been eating fairly healthy for most of their lives but as we all become more knowledgable about food, our diet continues to change. My suggestion for Bull is to start gradual. Maybe focus on adding more of something (like fruits to lunch, veggies to dinner) before removing all those foods he loves. Teenagers need control and independence. Trying in some small way to illicit his input or buy in may help. Maybe drawing conclusions to benefits of healthy eating related to something in the present instead of the future which means little to nothing to a teenager -better concentration, better sports performance, more likely to get/maintain six-pack abs.

I guess one of the issues is that I have no desire to “totally control him” or have all the power. I was raised that way and at 45 years of age, I still hate thinking about my childhood sometimes.

He’s a 14 year old young man, and my chance at controlling his food is over–I should have “just said no” to the first McDonald’s trip, etc. Now I do my best to set an example by eating vegan/whole/clean foods.

I do see him coming around to it some day. He scoffed at first when I changed my diet, now he is a believer (he’s seen my results). He won’t give up his pizza for my healthy pizza, but he’ll only eat local, humanely raised organic meat and dairy (his favorite thing is Applegate farms bacon). He’s come along a little at a time.

I also have teens, for whom I’ve always tried to pack healthy lunches. However, the ideas for packed lunches that I see are either time consuming to prepare, not suitable for brownbagging (they will not bring home a reusable lunch container with ice packs, just won’t happen, nor will they fight the lines at the cafeteria microwaves) or are not nearly sufficient quantity to fill up a teenage boy. Usually when I see ‘lunchbox ideas’ I skip over them because they are designed for a 3rd grader or 5th grader at best. A wrap with strawberries, bacon and spinach, a tangerine and a few cucumber slices? It’s a great idea, really, but not anywhere near adequate for a man-sized teen who eats lunch at 10:30 and gets home at 2:30. I’m sure that’s a great lunch for lower elementary kids, but once adolescence arrives, they need a lot more food than that.

These are great ideas. I started my kids out with what I made for dinner and put in front of them. They have always eaten fruits and veggies without a problem. At the time there wasn’t a lot mentioned about processed foods, so they did get that too. Mac and cheese and Hamburger Helper were their favorites. When my son was in kindergarten, his teacher wanted him on ADD meds and I strongly said NO. We changed his diet. Chips only on the weekends, no foods with nitrates and no artificial flavoring of any kind. He quickly ‘relaxed” a bit. He is super intelligent and was bored to death throughout his school career. Now he is 19 and is rarely home and I cannot see what he eats, he will come home several nights a week looking for a home cooked meal with salad and veggies. My daughter has been much easier to get off the processed foods, especially since she likes to cook with me (she’s 16). Btw, I’ve done the “warming food up” quite often to get them to at least try what is on the table. Worked every time.

That fridge picture is far too unrealistic, LOL A half gallon of milk to feed a family of 5? My family of 5 goes through 2-3 gallons a week. How did they find enough room to fit all those extra lunch containers in it? I can barely fit my oldest daughter,s lunch and snack in the fridge when I make it the night before. Stonyfield baby/kids yogurt has WAY to much sugar. Make your own fruit flavored yogurt by adding fresh or thawed frozen berries to plain yogurt with a drizle of honey. Lastly, just say no to styrofoam egg cartons- the environment thanks you! Buy cardboard cantons and recycle them or better yet, buy your eggs at the farmer’s Market like we do and bring back the empty cartons.

That being said, I can’t wait to try her berry trick. Also, thanks for the reminder to keep the kids lunches creative over the summer.

Kristin – I can’t speak for Laura (that’s not our fridge), but I’m willing to bet there’s milk on the door. We also buy eggs from the farmer’s market and return the cartons for reuse. Sometimes they sell us eggs in cardboard cartons, sometimes in foam. At least they get reused.

I realize the fridge picture was from Momables, not you guys. And I totally understand getting styrofoam egg cartons from the farmer’s market, I just don’t advocate buying commercial eggs in styrofoam from the store. Also, milk, other dairy and eggs should never be stored in the door of the fridge, as it doesn’t keep them cold enough. I store condiments, whole grain flours, oats and grains in my fridge door.

Downloaded the sample week last night, and we’ll try it next week. My kids looked at the ideas and seemed OK with them (the only thumbs down was the egg salad). If it goes well, I’m definitely signing up! School, summer, weekends, it doesn’t matter. I hate planning lunches.

Do you find it embarrassing to sell your soul to your sponsors and shamelessly plug their products? Any blogger who does this really loses credibility to me. I can understand wanting to stay home and live the “American Dream” from home while sharing information that you love and care about but off the backs of your trusting blog supporters? I was really interested in your viewpoint of nutrition and your beautiful photography but it’s really hard to sort through all of the sponsored posts.

So Andrea what do you suggest? Should our whole team work (many hours each week) for free? Or should we start charging readers for the content we put together and share? What about all the answers we provide readers when they have questions – should we charge for that as well? I certainly appreciate the opposing viewpoint (when shared in a respectful manner), but please know it is a big world and if you don’t like what you see here there are plenty of other blogs you can spend time on instead. Or you could also start your very own blog and work for free yourself if that’s what you choose.

Great response, Lisa! I would like to add that the plugs I’ve seen have been for useful reliable items. I’m new here, but I appreciate the recommendation of a reliable brand or a product that would be helpful. It saves me the trouble of wading through unreliable reviews on amazon. Thanks, Lisa, for your hard work!

I’ve been using Momables subsription service for almost a year now. I absolutely love it. My kids are very proud of their healthy lunches and the lunch helpers make lots of comments to them about how great their lunches look. I only send what they like in their lunches, so I sometimes change up the plan, but overall Laura has provided me with a wonderful arsenal of recipes.

Wow. It’s amazing to read through these comments and find largely complaints, negativity, and judgement. The family this blog is about has no teenagers in it. The lunches will of course be geared to younger children, as is the system the people at momables are selling. You don’t have to eat it, cook it, buy it, or even read it if you have a problem with what these folks are doing. This is what works for them, and sometimes it works so well they share. That goes for the sponsored posts, too. It’s another potential tool in your mommy box, not dogma. Don’t crap on somebody’s hard work because you can’t find it useful to your reality.

While I appreciate your need to defend this blog (to be clear, I meant no disrespect with my post about my teenager; I was only stating my reality), I find your post ironic.

I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t take something from Lisa’s blog. I enjoy her blog even though I don’t have small children and have a different situation with a teenager. I use her suggestions for myself and in fact have found several wonderful products to use that held her endorsement (same with Food Babe). :)

Wildtree has a lot of quick and delicious all natural recipes, skillet meals, that can help make a safe and healthy dinner for your family. Ever since I have switched over to using Wildtree seasonings in my meals, my VERY picky 6 year old cleans her plate every night. She has a natural distaste for a lot of processed foods and up until a year ago, I was pretty blind as to what we were putting in our bodies. I’m still working on changing our diets completely, but I’ve started by trying to share what knowledge I have acquired with others by selling these great products.

This is such a fantastic resource! I’m always trying to find a way to incorporate more healthy foods into my children’s daily life. I love how easy it is to grab a prepared “Momable” and go. Perfect for active families!

I’m a fellow Charlottean and wonder where can I find Organic, Whole Milk, plain Greek yogurt? I’ve no trouble finding the regular version, but can not find the Greek version. Any suggestions? By the way, I think you have come up w/a remarkable way to earn a living and I applaud your efforts and love your recipes! I don’t see you as selling out to the sponsors, but rather giving your readers more good information and resources for eating healthy. It’s actually pretty unselfish in my view. Keep it up!

As a mother of 3 with two of them being of school age next year I would just like to say I really appreciate this site and all of your hard work! You have inspired me to eat “real” food and pack wonderful lunches for my kiddos! Thank you for posting about momables, planning lunches for the week can be so time consuming, this will make life so much easier! Keep it up!

I LOVE your blog and I appreciate everything you post and do because it helps me do better for my family. I have used many of your ideas. Also, my kids really thank you for making their lunches better than ever before. You are totally awesome and anyone who doesn’t think so should just go somewhere else!

LOVE Laura and her wonderful site MOMables! So exciting to see her here at 100 Days of Real Food. What a wonderful resource and inspiration Laura is to moms and families who are wanting to feed kids healthy lunches that are as nutritious as they are fun and delicious!

I’d like this idea lot more if it didn’t sell a subscription to someone else’s site and actually told me how to do it myself. I refuse to subscribe to a site before knowing EXACTLY what they’re going to offer me in terms of a plan. I’ve seen far too many ‘kid guaranteed’ lunches which are just absurd. Great idea, and I respect her need to be paid for her efforts, but at least with a cookbook, I can preview and know just how many recipes I can actually use and how many nobody in the family will touch.

I have to admit I’m new to all of this but since my daughter and myself have been going through some stomach issue. I have changed our entire eating habits. THANK YOU so much for everything you do. Your website has helped us so much. Keep up the good work and I’m wondering when the cooking book will be out unless you have one already?

My Cookbooks

I’m so excited to share all the info with you about the three cookbooks in my 100 Days of Real Food series. Each cookbook is unique and features its own content, from breaking down the science behind grains, to providing…